Skilled Worker Visa Refused – Sponsor Error or Home Office Mistake?

Skilled Worker Visa Refused?

Skilled worker visa refused? A Skilled Worker visa refusal can jeopardise your career in the UK. Understanding whether the fault lies with your sponsor or the Home Office is crucial to fixing it.

A refusal of a Skilled Worker visa is a serious setback. You have a job offer, a licensed sponsor, and a clear career path in the UK, but a technical error has brought everything to a halt. The key to resolving this is to quickly and accurately diagnose the problem. Was it a mistake on your sponsor’s part, or did the Home Office caseworker get it wrong? The answer will determine your next steps.

Common Reasons for Skilled Worker Visa Refusals

Skilled Worker applications are points-based and highly technical. A refusal can be triggered by a number of issues, often falling into two camps: sponsor errors or caseworker errors.

Common Sponsor Errors

Your sponsor (your employer) has significant responsibilities in the visa process. A mistake on their part is a frequent cause of refusal.

• Incorrect SOC Code: Your sponsor assigned the wrong Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code to your role, meaning it did not meet the required skill level.
• Salary Below Threshold: The salary stated on your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) was below the general threshold or the specific “going rate” for your job.
• CoS Errors: The Certificate of Sponsorship contained incorrect information, such as the wrong job title, salary, or start date.
• Failure to Pay the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC): Your sponsor may have failed to pay the ISC, or paid the incorrect amount.

Common Home Office (Caseworker) Errors

Sometimes, the sponsor does everything right, but the caseworker makes a mistake when assessing the application.

• Miscalculation of Points: The caseworker incorrectly calculated the points you should have been awarded for your salary, qualifications, or other attributes.
• Ignoring Submitted Documents: The caseworker failed to consider a key document that you included in your application.
• Incorrectly Applying the Rules: The caseworker misinterpreted or misapplied a section of the complex Skilled Worker Immigration Rules.

Your Remedy: Administrative Review (AR)

For a Skilled Worker visa refusal, you do not have a right of appeal. Your sole remedy is to apply for an Administrative Review (AR).

• What it is: An AR is a process where a different caseworker reviews the original decision to check for a “caseworking error.”
• The Deadline is Critical: You must apply for the AR within 14 days of the refusal if you are in the UK, or 28 days if you are outside the UK.

How to Approach an Administrative Review

Your AR application must be precise and evidence-based.

• If it was a Home Office error: Your AR application should clearly and concisely state the error the caseworker made. For example, “The caseworker failed to award 20 points for my salary of £35,000, which is above the going rate for SOC code 2135.” You must refer to the specific documents in your original application that prove your point.
• If it was a sponsor error: This is more complex. An AR cannot consider new information. If your sponsor made a mistake on the CoS, the AR will likely fail because the caseworker made the correct decision based on the incorrect information they were given. In this scenario, the best course of action is often to let the AR be refused, and for your sponsor to issue a new, correct CoS for a fresh application.

Strategy: AR or Fresh Application?

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